For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
BASE FLOOD. The flood having a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION. The Federal Emergency Management Agency designated 100-year water surface elevation.
BASEMENT. Any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS. The board appointed to review appeals made by individuals with regard to decisions of the Zoning Administrator in the interpretation of this chapter.
BREAKAWAY WALL. A wall that is not part of the structural support of the building and is intended through its design and construction to collapse under specific lateral loading forces without causing damage to the elevated portion of the building or supporting foundation system.
DEVELOPMENT. Any human-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials.
ELEVATED BUILDING. A nonbasement building built to have the lowest floor elevated above the ground level by means of fill, solid foundation perimeter walls, pilings or columns (posts and piers).
ENCROACHMENT. The advance or infringement of uses, plant growth, fill, excavation, buildings, permanent structures or development into a floodplain which may impede or alter the flow capacity of a floodplain.
FLOOD or FLOODING.
(1) A general or temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
(a) The overflow of inland or tidal waters; or
(b) The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
(2) The collapse or subsistence of land along the shore of a lake or other body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels or suddenly caused by an unusually high water level in a natural body of water, accompanied by a severe storm, or by an unanticipated force of nature, such as flash flood or an abnormal tidal surge, or by some similarly unusual and unforeseeable event which results in FLOODING as defined in division (1)(a) above.
FLOODPLAIN or FLOOD-PRONE AREA. Any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source.
FLOODWAY. The channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than a designated height.
FREEBOARD. A factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood level for purposes of floodplain management. FREEBOARD tends to compensate for the many unknown factors that could contribute to flood heights greater than the height calculated for a selected size flood and floodway conditions, such as wave action, bridge openings and the hydrological effect of urbanization in the watershed.
HISTORIC STRUCTURE. Any structure that is:
(1) Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the Department of Interior) or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the National Register;
(2) Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district;
(3) Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places in states with historic preservation programs which have been approved by the Secretary of the Interior; or
(4) Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places in communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified either:
(a) By an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior; or
(b) Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.
LOWEST FLOOR. The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure, usable solely for parking of vehicles, building access or storage in an area other than a basement area is not considered a building’s LOWEST FLOOR, provided that such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable non-elevation design requirements of 44 C.F.R. § 60.3.
MANUFACTURED HOME. A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. For floodplain management purposes, the term MANUFACTURED HOME also includes park trailers, travel trailers and other similar vehicles placed on a site for greater than 180 consecutive days.
NEW CONSTRUCTION. For the purposes of determining insurance rates, structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective date of an initial flood insurance rate map or on or after December 31, 1974, whichever is later, and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures. For floodplain management purposes, NEW CONSTRUCTION means structures for which start of construction commenced on or after the effective date of a floodplain management regulation adopted by a community and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE. A vehicle which is:
(1) Built on a single chassis;
(2) Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection;
(3) Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty truck; and
(4) Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational camping, travel or seasonal use.
SHALLOW FLOODING AREA. A special flood hazard area with base flood depths from one to three feet where a clearly defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate, and where velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized by ponding or sheet flow.
SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA. The land in the floodplain subject to a 1% or greater chance of being flooded in any given year as determined in § 152.07.
START OF CONSTRUCTION. The date the building permit was issued, provided that the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement, substantial improvement or other improvement was within 180 days of the permit date. The actual START means either the first placement of permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as the pouring of slab or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of columns or any work beyond the stage of excavation; or the placement of a manufactured home on a foundation. Permanent construction does not include land preparation, such as clearing, grading and filling; nor does it include the installation on the property of accessory buildings, such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not part of the main structure. For a substantial improvement, the actual START OF THE CONSTRUCTION means the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor or other structural part of a building, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the building.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would equal or exceed 50% the market value of the structure before the damage occurred
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT. Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure before the start of construction of the improvement. This term includes structures which have incurred substantial damage regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include either:
(1) Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of state or local health, sanitary or safety code specifications which have been identified by the local code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions; or
(2) Any alteration of an historic structure, provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as an historic structure.
WATERCOURSE. A lake, river, creek, stream, wash, channel or other topographic feature on or over which waters flow at least periodically. WATERCOURSE includes specifically designated areas in which substantial flood damage may occur.
(1996 Code, § 176-115) (Ord. passed 8-12-2008)